There are so many things that happen during a week with nine Border Collies and it's fun to share....

Sunday

Just when I think…

Just when I think I've seen it all, the dogs will surprise
me again. I have seen each one do things
that were strange, funny, witty and even odd at times. Usually it’s about Dutchess, but this week it’s
about someone I would never suspect. I’m
talking about Annie Belle.

If you have made a visit to the farm, you have seen her play ball first hand or I mean carry a ball while everyone else
plays and she just runs around following the other dogs with a ball in her mouth. But today was different.

As we were preparing to go for a walk and we were gathering things
that we would need, I got my camera, coat, gloves, Dutchess got her Frisbee, Abby got her ball, Annie got her food
bowl....WHAT!

Actually, it’s not her food bowl, its
Errin and Tucker's bowl who are staying with us for a few days and the bowls were brought with them when they were dropped off for their stay. Annie
got excited that we were going because she had waited all day to go and play,
so at 8:30 am, off we went into the wild blue wonder. Here she came running down the driveway as
fast as she could with the food bowl in her mouth.

She had run a pretty good distance and I told her she had to take it all the way, no giving up or
dropping it and I certainly was not going to carry her new toy for her. So off we went, all the dogs and Annie and
her dog bowl. At first, she did pretty
good and was maneuvering it pretty well.
She would carry it by the lip and then change position and carry it
another way. She was so excited, she had
another toy and no one else had one, but I know that no one wanted one so everyone left her alone to carry her treasure as freely as she wanted. There was no snarling, growling or trying to steal
the bowl and she could run as happily as she wanted.

The first encounter was when she ran into a tree and knocked
it out of her mouth and as fast as she could, she snatched it up like it was a
juicy bone and off she went on another adventure. She seemed so proud of her bowl and displayed
it proudly.

The second encounter was
when she flipped it up and the bottom was covering her eyes again. I sensed she knew she was getting into trouble
so she dropped it and changed positions, holding the bottom toward the ground. I know we would be in trouble if she lost it
and at one time I thought she would. She
observed the other dogs playing with something that "she" wanted to carry so she
dropped the bowl and took off. “ANNIE, come back
here”, pick your bowl up and carry it back and surprisingly she did.

She picked it up and off she went, carrying it all the way back to the house, where it was put up out of her reach...Poor Annie.

While I’m not surprised she carried something around, I am
surprised she got Errin and Tucker’s food bowl.
I just glad she didn't try to bring both of them. Annie, you’re so cute….